Food for thought.

A recent study (separate from the big one released last week) shows that "by far, the most effective thing that you can do to fight global warming is to go vegetarian": http://goveg.com/environment-globalwarming.asp

Why? Because the livestock industry is a leading source of both carbon dioxide and methane, the two top causes of climate change. (Not to mention a ginormous water-waster, or how many nations we could feed with the grain that goes to fatten up cattle and hogs ...)

What you can do:

The Post-Punk Kitchen: http://www.theppk.com/

Vegetarian Cooking at The Book Lovers Cafe: http://web.mac.com/ians8/iWeb/BooksInc/Podcast/Podcast.html

Fat-Free Vegan: http://www.fatfreevegan.com/

28 Cooks: The culinary talents of a 28-year-old vegaquarian: http://28cooks.blogspot.com

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Early this morning, when I should've been sleeping but couldn't, I read a collection of Cynthia Heimel columns instead. A fluffy, cotton-candy bite of a book, by my usual standards, even if she is loudly and proudly feminist and rabidly sexual. Found it at the Book Maven's 29th annual birthday sale ... for some reason the section headed "How Can I Dump Him When He Hasn't Called" reached out of the stacks and bonked me on the head.

I've liked her previously for such titles as "If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?" and "Get Your Tongue Out of My Mouth, I'm Kissing You Goodbye" and "When Your Phone Doesn't Ring, It'll Be Me." Good mindless ranty fun.

Twelve years after publication, though, these pieces do show their age. She rants about the dangers of computer solitaire addiction, of listing one's full name and address on one's checks, of not letting the answering machine pick up because if you don't you know it's gonna be your mother calling. Who, in 2007, doesn't have Caller ID? When's the last time you wrote a check? (Though if you still have solitaire on your laptop, don't let me know; I harbored quite an addiction for it myself, back in the day.)

And lamenting the days when none of her friends call and so obviously she is not worth existing on this planet ... when these days we all know self worth is based on the number (or lack) of blog comments ... where is everybody, anyway???